La Bastide-Clairence (; ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Bastidots'' or ''Bastidotes''. The village is a member of the '' Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'' ("The most beautiful villages of France") association.

Geography

La Bastide-Clairence (Pyr-Atl, Fr) mairie

La Bastide-Clairence is located in the former province of Lower Navarre some 20 km east by south-east of

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine re ...

and 5 km north-east of Hasparren. Access to the commune is by the D10 road which branches from the D936 north of the commune and comes south to the village continuing south to join the D251 just west of

Ayherre Ayherre ()AIHERRE

Amorots-Succos Amorots-Succos () is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of southwestern France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Amoroztar'' in Basque Brigitte Jobbé-Duval, ''Dictionary of placenames ...

to the south-east. The D610 connects the D510 to the D10 in the commune. The commune is mostly farmland interspersed with forest. ''La Joyeuse'' stream flows from the south through the village and continues north to become the Aran which joins the

Adour The Adour (; eu, Aturri; oc, Ador) is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre (Pyrenees), in the commune of Aspin-Aure, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost ca. i ...

Urt Urt (; ; )AHURTI

Basque is ''Bastida'' or ''Bastida Arberoa''Euskaltzaindia - Academy of the Basque Language
and in Gascon

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

is ''La Bastida Clarença''. The following table details the origins of the commune name and other names in the commune. Sources: * Raymond:''
''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
1863, on the page numbers indicated in the table. ''Topographic Dictionary of the Department of Basses-Pyrenees''
Paul Raymond, Imprimerie nationale, 1863, Digitised from Lyon Public Library 15 June 2011 Origins: *Camara: Titles of the Camara of ComptosTitles published by don José Yanguas y Miranda, ''Diccionario de Antiguedades del reino de Navarra'', 1840, Pamplona *Navarre: Titles of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

Titles of the Kingdom of Navarre in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Duchesne: Duchesne collection volume 114Duchesne Collection, volume 99 to 114, containing the papers of Oihenart, former Imperial Librarian -

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...

*Oloron: Notaries of OloronDepartmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques *Pamplona: Titles of PamplonaTitles published by don José Yanguas y Miranda *Register: Register of the States of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

Diocese of Bayonne The Diocese of Bayonne, Lescar, and Oloron, commonly Diocese of Bayonne, (Latin: ''Dioecesis Baionensis, Lascurrensis et Oloronensis''; French language, French: ''Diocèse de Bayonne, Lescar et Oloron''; Basque language, Basque: ''Baionako, Leskar ...

Manuscripts from the 17th and 18th centuries in the Departmental Archives of Pyrénées-Atlantiques La Bastide-Clairence appears as LA BASTIDE Clerence'' on the 1750

Cassini Map The Cassini Map or Academy's Map is the first topographic and geometric map made of the Kingdom of France as a whole. It was compiled by the Cassini family, mainly César-François Cassini (Cassini III) and his son Jean-Dominique Cassini (Ca ...

and as ''LA BASTIDE'' on the 1790 version.

History

A Navarrese fortified village was founded in 1288 by ''Claire de Rabastens'' on a hillside next to the Aran river hence its Gascon name ''Bastida Clarença''. 800 refugees, mainly from

Bigorre Bigorre ({{IPA-fr, biɡɔʁ; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of t ...

, were granted a charter in July 1312 by Louis I of Navarre, the future Louis X of France. The birth of the village corresponds to a need for Navarre to create a strong town in the forested frontier area. La Bastide-Clairence, as its name suggests, was a fortified town. The historian Paul Broca could still see the remains of its ancient fortress in 1875. La Bastide-Clairence slowly accumulated a population of shop-keepers from south-western France then from Spanish refugees fleeing the Inquisition, and also from Basque towns and villages nearby. Another version of the origin of the town exists: it was populated by settlers from diverse backgrounds including pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela called the ''Francos''. By 1700 the population had reached 2,000. The inhabitants lived on the nail industry, woollen garments and knitwear, and agriculture. 12-day fairs ensured the prosperity of the town. In the 16th century the locals did not speak Basque, but spoke Gascon. Subsequently they gradually adopted the Basque language and customs. The town has 320 houses and mills from the 17th century. From 1575 to 1789, La Bastide-Clairence depended on the lords of Gramont. The city had a large Jewish community after the expulsion of

Portuguese Jews Spanish and Portuguese Jews, also called Western Sephardim, Iberian Jews, or Peninsular Jews, are a distinctive sub-group of Sephardic Jews who are largely descended from Jews who lived as New Christians in the Iberian Peninsula during the i ...

in the 16th and 17th centuries. Today, the Place des Arceaux and its

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

houses attract many art craftsmen. The houses are very typical of the region - there are two architectural types: *the Baserri style with gabled roofs with two slopes, half-timbered façade with red or green colour on overhangs, carved window mullions and lintels. *the Navarrese style with roofs of 2 or 4 sides and doors with vaulted

Arch An arch is a vertical curved structure that spans an elevated space and may or may not support the weight above it, or in case of a horizontal arch like an arch dam, the hydrostatic pressure against it. Arches may be synonymous with vaul ...

es. The commune was formerly known as ''Labastide-Clairence'' and was renamed ''La Bastide-Clairence'' on 25 June 1988.

The Jewish community

There was a Jewish community for about 200 years from the early 17th century to the end of the 18th century. Refugees who came from Spain and especially Portugal, the Sephardi Jews, settled in

at the end of the 16th century from where they spread to the three small towns of Peyrehorade (where they were welcomed by the Lord of Aspremont),

Bidache Bidache (; ; )BIDAXUNE

Duke of Gramont. Often called "Portuguese", there were about 70-80 families in the commune in the 17th century. They lived in a relatively autonomous community designated by the expression "Jewish Nation" on the municipal records and had their own separate cemetery that was opened at the beginning of the 17th century. The inscriptions on the tombs, numbering 62, were found from 1962 to 1964 by Professor Gérard Nahon. The oldest tomb dates from 1620 with the most recent in 1785. On 18 of them, the date of death is expressed in the Hebrew calendar. From 1659 all had biblical names: Jacob, Isaac, Benjamin, Esther, Sarah, Rebecca. Among family names there are: Dacosta, Henriquez, Lopez Nunez, Depas, Alvares. The number of Jews decreased significantly in the middle of the 18th century when there were only 15 Jewish families. There remained only 6 in 1798. The cemetery belongs to the Jewish Consistory of Bayonne.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive

Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities ...

Intercommunality

The town participates in nine inter-communal associations: *the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays Basque; *the AEP association of Arbéroue; *sanitation association of Adour-Ursuia; *the energy association of Pyrénées-Atlantiques; *the inter-communal association for the management of the Txakurrak center; *the inter-communal association for the industrial area of Ayherre; *the inter-communal association for support of Basque culture; *the joint association for studying, developing, and monitoring the SCOT of the agglomeration of Bayonne and southern Landes; *the association for the industrial area of Etxecolu at Bardos. La Bastide-Clairence is the headquarters of the sanitation association of Adour-Ursuia.

Demography

In 2017 the commune had 979 inhabitants.

Education

The commune has one private and one public primary school.

Economy

Economic activity in the commune is mainly agricultural. The commune is part of the Appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC) zone of

Ossau-iraty Ossau-Iraty is an Occitan-Basque cheese made from sheep milk. Origin Ossau-Iraty or Esquirrou is produced in south-western France, in the Northern Basque Country and in Béarn. Its name reflects its geographical location, the Ossau Valley in Bé ...

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The old Jeu de paume (1842) is registered as an historical monument.

Religious heritage

The commune has two religious sites that are registered as historical monuments: * The Church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption (1715) The church contains a Painting with frame: Virgin and child (18th century) which is registered as an historical object. * The old Jewish Cemetery (17th century) File:Labastide Clairence-011.jpg, The Church interior File:La Bastide-Clairence (Pyr-Atl, Fr) painting miracle of Saint Nicholas.jpg, Painting: Virgin and child with Saint Nicholas

Notable people linked to the commune

* Joanes Leizarraga, born at Briscous in 1506 and died at Labastide-Clairence in 1601, translated the first version of the New Testament into Basque or ''euskara''. * Salvatus I of Iharse (or Salvat Diharce) was named by

Henry III of France Henry III (french: Henri III, né Alexandre Édouard; pl, Henryk Walezy; lt, Henrikas Valua; 19 September 1551 – 2 August 1589) was King of France from 1574 until his assassination in 1589, as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of ...

Bishop of Tarbes The Roman Catholic Diocese of Tarbes et Lourdes (Latin: ''Dioecesis Tarbiensis et Lourdensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Tarbes et Lourdes'') is a Roman Catholic Latin Rite diocese in France. Until 2002 Tarbes was a suffragan of the Archdiocese of A ...

(19 January 1577 - around 1602). He came from a branch of the family from La Bastide-Clairence''Armorial of Pays basque'' or ''Compendium of notices and arms of houses, families, towns, and communities of Lower Navarre, Labourd and Soule, the Valleys of Baztan, Cinco Villas, Santesteban, Erro, Aezkoa, Urrobi, Salazar and Roncal, the towns of Irún, Fontarabie, Saint-Sébastien and of the valley ...'', Hubert Lamant-Duhart, H. Lamant, J & D, 1997, p.64 and 150. *

Armand Joseph Dubernad Armand Joseph Dubernad was born 23 November 1741, in Bayonne. He died 9 May 1799, in Morlaix. Armand Joseph Dubernad was a merchant, a French and Spanish financier, Consul general of the Holy Roman Empire, deputy, mayor, and cofounder of the fir ...

, (1741–1799), financial trader,

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, Consul general of the Holy Roman Empire, deputy, mayor, and co-founder of the first

Jacobin Club , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = Pa ...

of Brittany.

References

External links

Official website for La Bastide-Clairence

The Bastides in Pyrénées-Atlantiques

BASTIDA ARBEROA in the Bernardo Estornés Lasa - Auñamendi Encyclopedia (Euskomedia Fundazioa)

''La Bastide-Clairence''
John Reps Bastides Collection, Cornell University Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Bastideclairence Communes of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Plus Beaux Villages de France Lower Navarre